Family Ties
by Crescent Dreamweaver
Summary: Chapter 3 now up! Please, please, PLEASE review!
1. Prologue: Going To America

FAMILY TIES  
  
by  
  
Crescent Dreamweaver  
  
email: catz4dog1@aol.com  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Mutant X, Harry Potter, blah blah blah, etc., etc. The only character I own any rights to is Adrianne Mandori, 'cause I invented her. Mutant X belongs to Marvel and Tribune Entertainment, and Harry Potter belongs to the great muse J.K. Rowling.  
  
Synopsis: Adam's niece comes to stay with him during summer vacation, and she brings along some of her friends from the private school she goes to in England.  
  
* *= indicates emphasized words  
  
** **= indicates telepathic communication  
  
-- --= indicates a person's thoughts  
  
Let the story begin!  
  
* * *  
  
Prologue: Going To America  
  
Fifteen year old Adrianne Mandori ran to the Hogwarts train, dragging the trunk that was filled with her belongings behind her. Another school year had ended, and she was going home.  
  
Except that the home she was going to wasn't her own, but instead was her uncle's home. Her parents had decided to go on vacation for the entire summer, and so Adrianne was going to stay with her Uncle Adam in America. She hadn't seen him in almost six years, ever since her parents had decided to relocate to England.  
  
--And it's a really good thing that they decided to relocate, too-- she thought, smiling happily. --Otherwise, I wouldn't be a student at Hogwarts, and one of the best Chasers on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.-- She sighed as she realized she wouldn't be able to talk with Uncle Adam about Quidditch, or anything even remotely like that, without confusing him. Suddenly, she had an idea. --In his letter, Uncle Adam said I could bring some friends. I'll invite Harry, Ron, and Hermione to come with me.--  
  
Adrianne spotted her friends up ahead, putting their belongings on the train, and rushed towards them, dragging her trunk behind her.  
  
"Hey, guys!" she gasped. "Can I ask all of you something?"  
  
Fellow fifth years Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger turned to look at her.  
  
"Hey, Addie," said Ron. "You okay? You look as though you've just had several pieces of Breathless Butterscotch."  
  
"Breathless *what*?" Adrianne asked, momentarily forgetting what she was going to ask them.  
  
"Breathless Butterscotch," Ron repeated. "It's Fred and George's latest invention. It makes you feel out of breath. Wears off in a couple of minutes."  
  
"No, I haven't had any. I just wanted to ask all of you something."  
  
"What?" Hermione asked curiously.  
  
"Do you think any of your your parents would object to you guys coming with me to stay at my uncle's house in America for the summer?"  
  
"I doubt the Dursley's would mind," said Harry in a low voice. "They'll take any opportunity to have me stay somewhere else for the entire summer."  
  
"I'll have to ask my parents," said Hermione. "But I think they'll say yes."  
  
"I don't think Mum and Dad would mind," said Ron. "And I think they would mind less if we took Fred and George with us. Mum's been furious that they've started working on several new inventions at school, and I think it'll do her a load of good to have them out of the house for a while."  
  
The four friends got onto the train, and headed to an empty compartment. A few moments later, the train started, and headed for King's Cross.  
  
After the train left Hogwarts, Fred and George Weasley, Ron's older twin brothers, came down to the compartment that Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Adrianne were staying in.  
  
After Adrianne had explained everything to them, they nodded.  
  
"Yeah, I think Mum and Dad would agree," replied Fred.  
  
"It'll give 'em some peace and quiet around the house," agreed George.  
  
"Great! Uncle Adam will be meeting me at King's Cross. We can ask your parents for permission when we get there. Oh, and Harry, if the Dursleys refuse to let you come with us, I'll threaten to force-feed Dudley a dozen Ton-Tongue Toffees. That should convince them, don't you agree?" she asked innocently.  
  
Everyone in the compartment laughed, knowing what would happen to Dudley if he ate a dozen Ton-Tongue Toffees. With that discussion closed, Adrianne pulled out a pack of Exploding Snap, and the six of them enjoyed several games during the trip.  
  
* * *  
  
Emma deLauro walked down the steps to the living room of Sanctuary, looking for Adam. The leader of Mutant X had been acting weird for the past couple of months, ever since he'd received a strange letter.  
  
"Adam?" she called.  
  
"Over here, Emma," came his muffled voice. Emma walked in the direction of Adam's voice, and saw that he was underneath a computer. She could hear him banging on the underside. Suddenly, he yelped, and let loose with a torrent of obscenities that made Emma cringe. --God, I didn't even know he knew those particular words-- she thought.  
  
"Are you all right, Adam?" she asked, concerned.  
  
Adam crawled out from under the computer and dusted himself off. "I'm fine, Emma," he replied, throwing the computer a hateful look. "It's just that this computer has evidently decided that it hates me and wants to eat my fingers."  
  
Emma smothered a laugh. "Well, it could have been worse. It could have tried to drown you in oil." Adam gave her a withering glare.  
  
"I'm going to go change. I have to meet someone in a few hours." Adam glanced at his watch, and made a face. "On second thought, I'll just change on the jet."  
  
Emma blinked. "Who are you going to go meet?"  
  
Adam cocked an eyebrow at her. "That's my secret."  
  
Emma made puppy-dog eyes at him. "Please tell me."  
  
Adam gave her a Look. "Let me phrase it a different way: None of your damn business."  
  
Emma crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm making it my business."  
  
Adam gave her an annoyed look. "It's still none of your damn business." He stormed off towards the hanger bay, and Emma glowered after him.  
  
"Computer," she said, "lock the door to the hanger bay, and answer only to me."  
  
"Yes, Emma," responded the computer, and a moment later, the doors locked.  
  
Adam reached the hanger, and tried to open the doors, but found that they were locked. He swore under his breath. "Computer, unlock the hanger doors."  
  
"Cannot comply," came the computer's prompt response. "Responding only to Emma."  
  
"Computer, unlock the damn doors right now!" snarled Adam angrily.  
  
"Cannot comply," repeated the computer. Adam began to swear loudly.  
  
"You're not going anywhere until you tell me who you're going to meet." Adam turned around and saw Emma standing behind him, arms crossed over her chest. He glared at her.  
  
"Emma, tell the stupid computer to unlock the damned doors," he demanded. Emma shook her head.  
  
"Not until you give me an answer," she replied coolly. Adam didn't respond; instead, he stormed off towards his room. Emma stared after him, and sighed. --That man is so stubborn-- she thought.  
  
Then a voice inside her replied, "Yeah, but that doesn't stop you from being attracted to him."  
  
--I'm not attracted to him!-- thought Emma.  
  
"Bullshit."  
  
--Shove it before I shove my fist into your face-- Emma thought angrily.  
  
Her inner voice shut up.  
  
* * *  
  
Adrianne felt the train come to a stop, and she stood up. She, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the Weasley twins got off the train, and went to claim their belongings. When they went through the barrier, the first person they saw was Mrs. Weasley, who waved at them merrily.  
  
"Hello, Mrs. Weasley," said Adrianne cheerfully.  
  
"Hello, Adrianne," Mrs. Weasley replied.  
  
"Mrs. Weasley, may I ask you something?" Adrianne asked.  
  
"Certainly."  
  
"Is it all right if Ron, Fred, and George come to stay with me at my uncle's house for the summer?"  
  
"Yes, they may." Mrs. Weasley gave Fred and George a scathing look. "Boys, I had better not get any owls about Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, do you hear me?"  
  
As one, Fred and George let out groans of disgust. "Aw, Mum, now you've gone and taken half the fun out of our vacation already!" complained Fred, looking dismayed. Mrs. Weasley started to reply, but Adrianne cut her off.  
  
"Don't worry, Mrs. Weasley," she replied. "I won't let them cause any trouble in America." She crossed her fingers behind her back, and the twins fought back snickers. Mrs. Weasley walked away with Ginny, who had just gotten off the train with her baggage, and Adrianne turned to Harry and Hermione. "All right, Hermione, let's ask your parents next." Mr. and Mrs. Granger were all too willing to let Hermione stay with Adrianne at her uncle's for the summer. The only person left to ask was Harry's uncle.  
  
"No, you may not go to America," snapped Vernon Dursley. "If you think that Petunia and I will let you spend the summer with your freakish friends again, you've got another thought coming!"  
  
Harry's eyes practically glowed red-hot with anger. But before he could say anything, Adrianne spoke up, her voice laced with scorn.  
  
"Mr. Dursley, you've got a lot of nerve calling us freaks," she snapped. "If the term 'freak' applies to those who aren't normal, then your son Dudley is overqualified for that title. And yet, you refer to anyone who has anything at all to do with the wizarding world--" Vernon's face turned purple with anger.  
  
"How dare you mention that abnormality in a public place?" he hissed. "You have no right!"  
  
"AND YET YOU REFER TO ANYONE WHO HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE WIZARDING WORLD--" repeated Adrianne at the top of her lungs, causing everyone passing by to stop and stare at her. "--a freak," she finished in a calm, controlled, and normal voice. Vernon stared at her in horror, glancing at the passerbys fearfully. "Your son is bigger around the waistline than you are, and he's only fifteen. Is that normal?" But before Vernon could answer, Adrianne pulled out her wand, and aimed it at him. "Now, are you going to let Harry come to America? And if you say that he can't come, I'll hex you so badly that it'll make your ancestors dizzy!"  
  
"You--you'll get in trouble if you use magic outside of school!" said Vernon fearfully. "You're underage! They'll expel you!"  
  
"Damn it, you're right," Adrianne admitted reluctantly, and put her wand away. Then her eyes lit up, and she looked over at the Weasley twins, a smile appearing on her face. "Fred? George?"  
  
"Way ahead of you," said George, smiling grimly. As one, the twins pulled out their wands, and aimed them at Vernon.  
  
"Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Adrianne may be underage, but we're not," said Fred, giving Vernon an evil grin. "We graduated this year." Vernon swallowed hard, a look of absolute terror on his face, and Adrianne crossed her arms over her chest.  
  
"Now, will you let Harry come to America with us or not?" she demanded, a dark look on his face.  
  
"All--all right," said Vernon shakily, and walked away. Adrianne turned to Harry, an unhappy look on her face.  
  
"God, Harry, you weren't kidding about how horrible your relatives were," she said, looking stunned. "If the rest of your relatives are anything like your uncle, I'm glad that you're not going home to them this summer." Then she changed the subject. "I wonder when Uncle Adam's going to get here? He should have been here by now."  
  
* * *  
  
Adam stormed into his room, and slammed the door behind him. He crossed the room and sat down at his desk, scowling. He had never been so angry at anyone in his life. Emma had made him this angry only one other time, and that had been when he and the rest of Mutant X had had to rescue her a second time from the same people that had tried to abduct her the first time. But even then, he hadn't been so angry at her.  
  
Suddenly, he realized that Adrianne would be expecting him to arrive at any time. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number of King's Cross. It rang once and then was answered.  
  
"King's Cross Train Station, 'ow may I 'elp you?" came a perky-sounding voice with a Cockney accent.  
  
"Could you see if Adrianne Mandori is at the station?" Adam asked.  
  
"Certainly. One moment, please." A few seconds later, Adam heard the person announce over the intercom, "Would Adrianne Mandori please come to the front of the train station? She 'as a phone call." A few minutes later, Adam heard an all-too-familiar voice in his ear.  
  
"Hello?" came Adrianne Mandori's voice.  
  
"Adrianne, it's Uncle Adam," he replied.  
  
"Hi, Uncle Adam!" said Adrianne joyfully. Then she demanded, "Where the hell are you?!"  
  
Adam made a face, even though he knew that his niece wouldn't be able to see it over the phone. "Adrianne, something's come up, and I can't come and pick you up."  
  
"Don't worry, Uncle Adam," replied Adrianne. "We have an alternative mode of transportation. Several, in fact. Is there a fireplace at Sanctuary?"  
  
Adam blinked. "Yes."  
  
"It's not blocked up, is it?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Good! That's all I needed to know."  
  
"Oh, Adrianne?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"What do you mean, 'we'?"  
  
"Well, you'd said that I could bring some friends with me, so I invited my five best friends, and they've all been given permission to come."  
  
"All right. Believe me, we have plenty of room."  
  
"Okay. Bye, Uncle Adam! See you in a few minutes!" A moment later, the line went dead, and Adam put away his cell phone, confused.  
  
What had Adrianne meant by "See you in a few minutes"?  
  
* * *  
  
Adrianne walked back to where Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the twins were waiting.  
  
"Turns out that Uncle Adam can't come get us, so we're going to have to get there by another mode of transportation." She turned to Ron. "Hey, Ron, do you know if there's someplace nearby where we can travel by Floo?" He nodded.  
  
"Yeah, we can travel by Floo from the Leaky Cauldron," he replied. "But how are we gonna get all our luggage there?"  
  
"That's easy," said Hermione brightly. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at her trunk. "Shrinkus!" A yellow light shot out of her wand, and a moment later, her trunk was small enough to fit in her pocket. Adrianne and the others followed her example, and when they were done, they picked up their miniaturized trunks and put them in their pockets.  
  
After that had been done, Harry let his snowy owl, Hedwig, out of her cage, and Adrianne let her barn owl, Jemima, out of her cage. "Jemima, I need you and Hedwig to fly to my uncle's house and wait for us there," Adrianne said, stroking Jemima. Both owls hooted in reply, and they flew off. Then Harry, Ron, Hermione, Adrianne, and the twins headed towards the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
When they got there, they were immediately shown to a fireplace, and the owner of the pub threw a pinch of Floo powder into the fire that was crackling there. The flames turned emerald-green, and Adrianne stepped into the fireplace. "Sanctuary!" she said, and began swirling around. A moment later, she fell out of the fireplace, landing on a hard floor and bruising her kneecaps. Nearby, she heard someone scream shrilly.  
  
* * *  
  
Emma stared at the fireplace, scowling. Suddenly, emerald-green flames appeared in the fireplace, and a moment later, a person fell out of the fireplace, landing on her knees. Emma took one look at the person, and screamed shrilly.  
  
Upstairs in his room, Adam heard Emma scream downstairs in the living room, and he jumped to his feet. His anger at her was completely forgotten as he ran out of his room, practically flying down the stairs, just a few steps ahead of the rest of the team. "Emma, are you all right?" he called worriedly. Emma turned around and ran towards him and the rest of the team.  
  
"Adam, that person just appeared out of the fireplace," she said frantically. Adam glanced at the fireplace, and to his amazement, saw that there were emerald-green flames in it. In front of the fireplace crouched a small figure with long, dark brown hair, wearing a dark grey sweater trimmed with red and gold stripes, a white blouse underneath, a red and gold striped tie, a dark grey skirt that ended just a few inches above her knees, white knee socks, and black Mary Janes.  
  
"God, I *hate* traveling by Floo," she said disgustedly, her voice slightly muffled. She got to her feet, and Adam gasped when he saw her face.  
  
It was Adrianne.  
  
She turned back to the fireplace. "Hey, guys, it's safe to come through!" she shouted into the flames. A moment later, a boy with messy black hair, green eyes, and glasses landed in the same place that she had, and she helped him to his feet. "You okay, Harry?"  
  
He nodded. A moment later, another boy fell out of the fireplace. He had bright red hair and hazel eyes. Harry and Adrianne helped him to his feet. The next person to fall out of the fireplace also had bright red hair and hazel eyes, but he was older than Adrianne by at least two years. Then another boy who looked to be his twin fell out of the fireplace. Finally, a girl Adrianne's age fell out of the fireplace. She had bushy brown hair and brown eyes.  
  
"Well, that was less than pleasant," she said disgustedly, brushing the soot from her skirt.  
  
Emma, Jesse, and Shalimar stared at the teenagers in front of them in shock, not saying anything. Finally, Emma spoke. "Who the hell are you guys?"  
  
The black-haired boy started to reply, but before he could say anything, the girl who had come out of the fireplace first let out a squeal of delight. "Uncle Adam!" She flung herself at Adam, hugging him tightly.  
  
To the amazement of the younger members of Mutant X, Adam enveloped her in a huge hug. "It's great to see you, Addie."  
  
"It's great to see you too, Uncle Adam," she said, her voice slightly muffled.  
  
Adam looked up, and saw the rest of Mutant X staring at him and Adrianne in shock. He smiled faintly. "Addie, I'd like you to meet Shalimar Fox, Jesse Kilmartin, Brennan Mulwray, and Emma DeLauro. Shalimar, Brennan, Jesse, Emma, this is my niece, Adrianne Mandori."  
  
to be continued...  
  
* * *  
  
A/N: Well, that's the end of the prologue. Now to start working on chapter 1! As always, please R&R, but no flames, 'cause otherwise I'll have to kick your sorry arses from here to Middle Earth. See ya! 


	2. Chapter 1: Summer Vacation Has Begun!

Note: The song that I say is by the Weird Sisters is from the Disney movie, "Hocus Pocus". At least, this version is. And I'm like Adrianne; I can't play chess worth a damn. I don't even know how. So to all you chess addicts out there, please don't be offended.  
  
Chapter 1: Summer Vacation Has Begun!  
  
After all the introductions had been made, Adam led Adrianne and her friends upstairs to the guest rooms.  
  
"Adrianne, you and Hermione can sleep in there," he said, indicating to a room that was in the middle of the hallway. "Harry, you and Ron can sleep in the room on the left side of Adrianne and Hermione's room, and Fred and George can sleep in the room that's on the right side of the girls' room." He hesitated for a moment. "Uh, where's your luggage?"  
  
"In our pockets," replied Adrianne. She pulled a small box out of her pocket, and placed it on the floor. Then she pulled a slender stick out of her pocket as well, and pointed it at the box. "Engorgio!" The box instantly grew, and became a large trunk.  
  
Adam stared from the box to Adrianne, his jaw hanging down. "How did you..." he started to say, but she cut him off.  
  
"It's something we can all do," she replied, shrugging. "We learned it at school."  
  
Adam lifted an eyebrow slightly. "You learned that at school?"  
  
Adrianne nodded. "Yep. We go to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Adam's eyes grew huge. "You mean, you didn't know?"  
  
Adam slowly shook his head. "No, I didn't know. Do your parents know?"  
  
"Uncle Adam, of course they know. After all, Dad's a wizard, and he had to tell Mom so that she wouldn't freak out if I started showing signs of being a witch, like falling out of a ten-story window and bouncing up in the air after hitting the ground." Adrianne grinned. "Which I did when I was four. Also, he had to be able to explain how the pictures of his friends and family were moving, and he couldn't exactly keep his wand hidden. Besides--" Adrianne let out a deep sigh. "--it was a dangerous time. For both the wizarding community and the muggle community."  
  
She didn't say anything else, but she didn't need to. Ron, the twins, Harry, and Hermione all had grave looks on their faces, and Adam didn't bother asking what the danger was. He wasn't sure he wanted to know.  
  
Also, he knew that he'd probably find out sometime in the future.  
  
* * *  
  
Adrianne walked out of the bathroom, drying her hair. She was wearing a long nightgown that looked like an oversized long-sleeved shirt. It was made of satin, and was bright red. She walked over to her bed, and grabbed her wand from where it rested on the nightstand. She aimed it at her hair, and said clearly, "Dryus!"  
  
There was a blast of hot air, and a few seconds later, Adrianne's hair was completely dry. She braided it, and then went to her bed, putting her wand back on the nightstand. Hermione was already in hers, completely engrossed in a book.  
  
"Hermione, what are you reading?" asked Adrianne curiously, and Hermione looked up.  
  
"It's a really good fantasy," she replied. "It's called 'Lord of the Rings', by J.R.R. Tolkien."  
  
"I've read that before," said Adrianne. She crawled under the covers. "In fact, I can even speak a bit of the language in it."  
  
"Oh, really?" replied Hermione skeptically. "Prove it, then. How would you show gratitude to me in Sindarin?"  
  
"Uireb lalaith na le," quoted Adrianne sleepily, and Hermione's mouth fell open in shock. "What, you think that you're the only one who reads? Now, turn off the goddamn light and go to sleep."  
  
Hermione waved her wand, and the lights turned off. They were both asleep in a matter of minutes.  
  
Neither of them noticed that the alarm clock next to Adrianne's bed had automatically set itself, turning the volume as high as it would go.  
  
* * *  
  
"I PUT A SPELL ON YOU, AND NOW YOU'RE GONE, GONE, GONE, SO LONG--" sang the Weird Sisters over the radio at the highest volume imaginable. "I PUT A SPELL ON YOU, AND IT WAS STRONG, SO STRONG, SO STRONG, SO STRONG---"  
  
Adrianne shrieked and fell out of bed, her legs tangling in the blankets. In the other bed, Hermione sat up straight, her bushy brown hair falling into her eyes.  
  
"What's going on?" she asked sleepily. Suddenly, there was a pounding on the other side of the wall.  
  
"SHUT OFF THAT BUGGERING RADIO!" bellowed Fred.  
  
Adrianne whacked the radio with her hand, but nothing happened. In desperation, she grabbed her wand from the nightstand, and aimed it at the radio.  
  
"Explosira!"  
  
KA-BOOM!!!  
  
Adrianne and Hermione ducked as the radio exploded, sending pieces of wood and smoldering metal flying in every direction. Finally, the smoke cleared, and both Adrianne and Hermione stood up, surveying the damage.  
  
Hermione turned to gape at Adrianne.  
  
"You used the Explosive Spell?" she asked incredulously. "That's like killing a fly with a nuclear bomb!"  
  
Adrianne flinched.  
  
"Oops."  
  
* * *  
  
Adam bolted upright in bed, his eyes wide with shock. Down the hallway in the room where Adrianne and Hermione were sleeping, extremely loud music had just started playing. He sighed, and climbed out of bed. He opened his bedroom door, just as the music was cut off with a loud KA-BOOM!  
  
Wide awake now, Adam ran down the hallway towards the girls' room, and flung the door open.  
  
There were pieces of smoldering metal and wood everywhere, which was all that remained of the radio. Both Adrianne and Hermione were staring at the nightstand between the two girls' beds, where there was a blackened spot. Adrianne held her wand in one hand.  
  
"What the hell happened here?" Adam demanded. Both girls spun around to look at him. There was a guilty look on Adrianne's face.  
  
"I blew up my radio," she said. At the incredulous look on Adam's face, she added, "Whacking the stupid thing wouldn't work."  
  
Adam took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly.  
  
"Well, seeing as no one got hurt, I'm not going to punish you, Adrianne," he replied. "But I don't want anything else to get blown up, all right?"  
  
Adrianne nodded.  
  
"All right, Uncle Adam," she said. Adam hugged her, and then left the room, shutting the door behind him.  
  
* * *  
  
As soon as Adam left the room, Adrianne turned to Hermione, her face pale.  
  
"What is it, Adrianne?" Hermione asked, concerned.  
  
"Oh god, I hope Uncle Adam never finds out about the dungbombs and Filibuster's Fireworks that Fred and George have got stashed in their trunks."  
  
* * *  
  
An hour later, Adrianne clomped downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast.  
  
"Morning, everyone," she said. She was wearing muggle clothing: a red tank top with a v-neck deep enough to show cleavage, baggy black pants, and black sneakers.  
  
Ron glanced over at her. He was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, which was what he usually wore in the summertime anyway, and Harry was wearing a huge sweatshirt and a pair of extremely baggy jeans that were barely held up by a buckle done up all the way.  
  
"Morning," he said, his words muffled by the muffin that he'd stuffed in his mouth. Then his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he looked behind her. Adrianne turned around, and snickered.  
  
Shalimar had just entered the kitchen, wearing a brown leather skirt, and a matching shirt that showed a great deal of cleavage.  
  
"Morning, everyone," she said. "What's for breakfast?"  
  
"The usual," replied Adam, who was at the stove. "Addy, how do you want your eggs done?"  
  
"Scrambled," she replied, taking out her wand. "Accio apple!" she said without thinking. A bright red apple zoomed towards her, and she grabbed it. But before she could take a bite, she noticed that Hermione was mouthing something at her, a look of panic on her face.  
  
It was then that she noticed that the kitchen had suddenly gotten very, very quiet. Adrianne looked around at everyone, and saw that Jesse, Brennan, Emma, and Shalimar were all staring at her in shock.  
  
"How the hell did you do that?" demanded Shalimar. Adrianne swallowed hard.  
  
"Uh...I'm telekinetic?" she replied weakly. --Maybe they'll believe me-- she thought desperately.  
  
No such luck.  
  
Shalimar crossed her arms over her chest, giving Adrianne an icy glare.  
  
"Why don't I believe you?" she growled. "Try again."  
  
Without answering, Adrianne ran into the other room. She pulled out her wand again.  
  
"Accio Firebolt!" she yelled at the top of her lungs. A moment later, her Firebolt came zooming downstairs, and without bothering to stop running, she jumped on and zoomed upwards, out of the reach of the members of Mutant X. Once she was up there, she gave them a smug look. "Nyah, nyah!" she shouted, sticking her tongue out at them. "Can't get me!"  
  
"How did you do that?" called Emma, sounding amazed. Adrianne flew back down to the ground, and gently landed on her feet.  
  
"Hermione and I are witches, and Harry, Ron, and the twins are wizards," she replied. "The school we go to in England is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." She grinned. "Harry and I are both on the Gryffindor Quidditch team---I'll explain what Quidditch is later. Right now, I want to eat my breakfast." She went back into the kitchen, and sat down at the kitchen table.  
  
Suddenly, Fred and George appeared in the doorway. They were both dressed in jeans and t-shirts, but fortunately, the t-shirts were different colors. Fred was wearing a yellow t-shirt, and George was wearing a red one.  
  
"Morning, all," said Fred. Then he spotted Adrianne sitting at the kitchen table, and brightened up. "Adrianne!" he said loudly, shaking her hand as though just being introduced to her. "How splendid to see you!"  
  
"Absolutely spiffing," added George, shaking her other hand.  
  
Adrianne began laughing at the way the twins were acting.  
  
"Sorry about the stupid alarm clock," she apologized. "It must have set itself last night. It does that sometimes. Or rather, it *did*. I used the Explosive Spell on it this morning, because it wouldn't shut up."  
  
She turned slightly pink as Fred and George began applauding.  
  
"You deserve an award," said Fred.  
  
"What award's that?"  
  
"The award for Most Creative Way To Shut Off Your Alarm Clock."  
  
Adrianne snorted.  
  
"Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. The stupid thing wouldn't shut off when I whacked it, so I blew it up." She cocked an eyebrow at them. "And don't tell me that you wouldn't have done the same thing; I know you both too well."  
  
The twins simultaneously snorted.  
  
"How can you say such a thing?" demanded Fred, a look of mock offense on his face. "I would *never* have blown up my alarm clock with the Explosive Spell!"  
  
"No, you would have used a dungbomb," replied Adrianne with a straight face. "Now, let's eat breakfast. I'm starving."  
  
They sat down at the kitchen table and dug in.  
  
* * *  
  
A couple of hours later, Adrianne went into the living room. Harry and Ron were in there, playing chess. Adrianne walked over to them, and peered down at the board.  
  
"So, who's winning?" she asked innocently. Harry looked up at her, and grimaced. "Never mind. I know who's winning."  
  
Finally, Ron checked Harry's king, and grinned when his knight smashed Harry's king to tiny pieces. A moment later, the chess pieces automatically fixed themselves.  
  
"That's it!" said Harry, jumping to his feet. "I'm not playing any more chess today."  
  
Ron turned to Adrianne, and grinned.  
  
"Don't suppose you'd care to play a game, would you?" he asked innocently.  
  
"Don't suppose I would," she retorted. Ron's shoulders slumped, and he let out a huge sigh.  
  
"Why won't anyone play with me?" he moaned, glancing at Adrianne out of the corner of his eye to see how she would react. Adrianne snorted, and went to the lab, where Adam was studying a formula.  
  
"Uncle Adam, I know you're busy right now, but could you possibly play a game with Ron?" she begged. "He won't stop complaining."  
  
Adam sighed, and turned towards his niece.  
  
"What kind of game?" he asked wearily.  
  
"Chess," she replied. "Harry won't play with him for the rest of the day because Ron's already beaten him at least half a dozen times, and I can't play worth a damn. So, can you please play a game of chess with Ron? Please?" Adam sighed, and ran a hand through his dark brown curls.  
  
"Oh, all right," he said finally, standing up. "But I hope Ron won't be too disappointed if I beat him quickly." Adrianne rolled her eyes, and followed Adam into the living room, where Ron had set up the chess board.  
  
"Hope you don't mind if we play with my chess set," he said cheerfully.  
  
"That's all right," replied Adam. "It shouldn't be any different than any other chessboard."  
  
Ron blinked, and Adrianne let out a snort of laughter. --Uncle Adam is in for one hell of a surprise-- she thought, smirking inwardly.  
  
Adam sat down across from Ron, taking the white pieces. He started to reach for one of the pawns, but Ron stopped him.  
  
"You don't need to touch the pieces," he informed Adam. "You just tell 'em where to go." He began looking down at the pieces. "Red pawn to white pawn," he called.  
  
The red pawn moved to the space in front of the white pawn, and the white pawn smashed it to pieces. Adam nearly fell out of his seat in shock.  
  
"Well, that's different," he said finally. Ron smirked at him.  
  
"That's wizard's chess," he said smugly.  
  
Adam looked into the teenage boy's brown eyes, and saw pure confidence reflecting out of them. He set his jaw, and looked down at the board.  
  
He could already tell that this wasn't going to be an easy win.  
  
* * *  
  
Half an hour later, Adam had lost most of his pieces. He eyed the teenager sitting across from him with newfound respect. Ron was a better player than Adam had thought he'd be.  
  
Adrianne came downstairs to the living room, and saw that they were still playing. She grinned, and dashed upstairs to tell everyone.  
  
She practically flew into Emma's room, startling the older woman.  
  
"Adrianne, is something wrong?" she asked, concerned. Adrianne shook her head.  
  
"Emma, has Uncle Adam ever beaten you at chess?" she asked casually, leaning against the door. Emma rolled her eyes.  
  
"Are you kidding?" she replied. "Every time I've played against your uncle, I've ended up getting my ass kicked. Why?" Adrianne gave her an evil grin.  
  
"Uncle Adam's playing against Ron, and I'm pretty sure that Ron's winning," she said gleefully. Emma's jaw dropped.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"I just saw them playing downstairs. I've never seen such a look of concentration on Uncle Adam's face. Not once."  
  
Emma jumped to her feet, and dashed out of her room. She headed to Shalimar's room, where the blond feral was taking a nap.  
  
"Shalimar, there's a possibility that Adam could get his ass kicked at chess by Adrianne's friend Ron," she whispered to the sleeping feral. Shalimar's eyes flew open, and she sat up as fast as she could.  
  
"You're joking, right?" she demanded. Emma shook her head.  
  
"Nope. Adrianne just told me. She said that she's pretty sure Ron's beating Adam at chess."  
  
Shalimar jumped to her feet.  
  
"Adam getting his ass kicked at chess by a fifteen year old boy? This I gotta see."  
  
They both followed Adrianne down to the living room, just in time to hear Ron say, "Checkmate."  
  
Emma and Shalimar started cheering, and Adrianne began laughing.  
  
"Hey, Jesse, Brennan," yelled Emma. "Come to the top of the stairs."  
  
"Why?" yelled Jesse from his room.  
  
"Adam just got his ass kicked at chess."  
  
"Say what?" came two male voices in unison. Everyone in the living room heard footsteps pounding out of Jesse and Brennan's rooms, and a few seconds later, the two of them barrelled down the stairs to the living room.  
  
"Please tell me that you weren't kidding," said Jesse to Emma.  
  
"Because if you were, you're gonna get a jumpstart," growled Brennan, forming a ball of electricity with one hand.  
  
"No, I wasn't kidding. Adrianne came and told me, I told Shalimar, and the three of us came down here just in time to hear Ron say, 'Checkmate'." Emma grinned.  
  
Brennan released the ball of electricity into thin air, and it almost immediately dissipated. Then he moved forward to shake hands with Ron. Both of them yelped as they were shocked by the static electricity.  
  
"Sorry about that," said Brennan. "Congratulations for kicking Adam's ass at chess. I think you're probably the only one who's ever done that."  
  
"Then you obviously don't know Ron very well," came Hermione's voice from above. She sounded slightly smug. "I can't think of anyone who's *ever* beaten Ron at chess before. He's even beaten a giant chess game where we had to be three of the pieces on the board. He nearly got killed in the process, but he still won."  
  
"No, I didn't," Ron replied, his ears going red. "I made it possible for Harry to win."  
  
"It was still the best played game of chess I've ever seen," Hermione said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Possibly the best played game of chess *anyone* has ever seen. Definitely the best that was ever played at Hogwarts."  
  
"That's our Ron, all right," said Fred, coming up behind Hermione. "The best chess player in all the wizarding world."  
  
"Maybe even the universe," said George. He and Fred gave Ron identical grins.  
  
Ron's ears turned even redder than his hair.  
  
to be continued...  
  
* * *  
  
A/N: Sorry it took so long to get this posted, but I've had major writer's cramp with this chapter. But I've finally finished it. Thank you for waiting so patiently, everyone. As always, please R&R. Flamers will be pelted with dungbombs, and then they'll get their sorry arses kicked from here to the Bog of Eternal Stench. (My old threat, to kick people's sorry arses from here to Middle Earth, wasn't very effective. I can't imagine why. *winks*) 


	3. Chapter 2: An Encounter With Snape

Note: I know that Ruby's bookstore was probably shut down by the GSA, but I'm going to pretend that it wasn't, and Pigwidgeon and Crookshanks weren't mentioned in either the prologue or chapter one. Sorry 'bout that. Also, one of my reviewers, Lani, asked me how Adam was able to find out that Adrianne is a witch, when Uncle Vernon had said that since they were underage, they couldn't use magic. Well, my answer is that she wanted Uncle Vernon to know that even though Harry was underage, he had friends who weren't. And I'm going to say that the Ministry of Magic got rid of the law about underage use of magic because the students have to be able to protect themselves against Voldemort. I mean, come on---Voldemort's been brought back to power. Somehow, I doubt that Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, is going to be stupid enough to deny the students the right to defend themselves. He may be a stupid git, but he isn't *that* stupid. Also, he wasn't so angry about the alarm clock being blown up, because neither Adrianne or Hermione was injured.  
  
Anyway, on with the story!  
  
Chapter 2: An Encounter With Snape  
  
A couple of days later, as Adrianne and the others were eating breakfast, they heard a couple of owls hooting overhead. A moment later, Jemima, Adrianne's barn owl, and Hedwig, Harry's snowy white owl, landed gently on the kitchen table in front of them.  
  
"Jemima!" squealed Adrianne happily. Jemima let out a hoot of happiness at the sight of her mistress, and both she and Hedwig looked extremely proud of themselves. "You and Hedwig both made it!" Then she noticed that there was an envelope attached to Jemima's leg. "And it looks as though you stopped at home for a short while," she said, chuckling. She gently removed the envelope from Jemima's leg, and opened it. It was from her mother, and it read:  
  
"Dear Adrianne,  
  
"Hope you made it to America all right. I'm assuming that your friends went with you, since Hedwig was with Jemima. Give your uncle a hug and a kiss for me. Love, Mom. P.S. I'll bring you back something from Ireland."  
  
Adrianne got up, and gave Adam a huge hug, and then kissed him on the cheek, standing on her tiptoes to do so.  
  
"Mom said to do that," she explained, grinning at her uncle, who had a completely perplexed look on his face. Adam blinked, and then grinned down at his niece.  
  
"Well, at least Alina didn't forget about me," he replied. "Hurry up and finish eating. The rest of the team and myself need to go by one of the safehouses for a while, and I thought you and your friends might want to come along."  
  
Adrianne blinked.  
  
"Where's the safehouse at?" she asked, confused.  
  
"It's at a bookstore." Adrianne grimaced. "What?"  
  
"Uncle Adam, when we leave, we're gonna have to forcibly drag Hermione out of there," Adrianne informed him. "Otherwise she'll never leave."  
  
Across the table, Hermione made a face at her. Adam chuckled.  
  
"It won't be that bad," he said.  
  
Adrianne wolfed down her breakfast and stood up.  
  
"I'm ready," she said. Everyone else stood up as well, and they put their dishes away in the sink.  
  
* * *  
  
About fifteen minutes later, Adrianne buckled herself into the van that they were going in. Beside her were Ron and the twins, staring around at everything, their eyes wide with amazement at all the gadgets in the car.  
  
"Wicked!" said Ron in a low voice.  
  
"It's a good thing Dad isn't here," said George to Adrianne.  
  
"Why's that?"  
  
"Because he wouldn't be able to keep his hands to himself."  
  
Adrianne snorted. On the other side of the twins, on the driver's side, were Harry and Hermione. They looked just as impressed as the Weasleys, but Adrianne could tell that they weren't impressed by the fact that it was a muggle item---they were more impressed by all the gizmos that the van sported.  
  
Shalimar and Emma got in the very back of the van, and sat there, giggling about something. Jesse sat up front with Adam, and Brennan squeezed in beside Adrianne.  
  
"Now I know what a sardine feels like," Adrianne grumbled. She could barely move. Brennan smirked down at her.  
  
"Don't worry," he teased. "We shouldn't come to any sharp turns. But be warned; if we do, I don't just squish, I zap." As if to prove his point, blue electricity sparked around his fingertips.  
  
Adrianne's eyes grew huge, and she unbuckled as fast as she could. Then she climbed over the seat into the back seat.  
  
"Adrianne, what are you doing?" Emma asked, confused, as Adrianne sat between her and Shalimar.  
  
"Staying away from Brennan. I refuse to be squished next to a guy that can power a small city with a single zap." Suddenly, Adrianne yelped and nearly jumped out of her seat.  
  
"What's wrong?" asked Emma, concerned.  
  
"Something just shocked me!"  
  
Emma and Shalimar exchanged a grin, and in front of Adrianne, Brennan pulled his hand back, whistling innocently.  
  
* * *  
  
They finally arrived at the bookstore. Mercifully, Brennan and Adrianne hadn't killed each other. Adrianne had been extremely pissed when she found out that Brennan was the one who shocked her, and had immediately retaliated by kicking the back of his seat as hard as she could. That was a mistake. Brennan got back at her by shocking her again, only this time with more power.  
  
Adam had finally pulled over to the side of the road, and made Adrianne switch seats with Jesse. Then he made Emma switch seats with Brennan, so that Brennan and Adrianne couldn't kill each other.  
  
Adrianne, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and the twins stared around the bookstore in amazement. There were as many books, if not more, than there were in the library at Hogwarts.  
  
"So this is what a muggle bookstore looks like," Ron muttered. "I wonder what kind of books they have here?"  
  
Adrianne shrugged.  
  
"Probably all kinds," she replied. "Muggle bookstores are generally like that. They have numerous categories for books, like action, romance, drama, and lots of others." She glanced over at Hermione, and cracked a grin.  
  
Hermione had a look in her eye that indicated she couldn't wait to start looking through the books.  
  
"Maybe we'll be able to find some information for some of our homework," she said. "After all, muggles write about so many different and unusual things, some of which are completely common to the wizarding world. Like J.R.R. Tolkien. He wrote about wizards and magical rings and elves and dwarves and goblins and other things found in the wizarding world."  
  
"I don't recall J.R.R. Tolkien ever writing about warlocks and veela and Quidditch and schools of witchcraft and wizardry," Adrianne muttered out of the corner of her mouth, and both Harry and Ron laughed. Hermione, however, looked annoyed, and she stomped off.  
  
Shaking her head slightly, Adrianne went over to the fantasy section, and in just a few minutes, she was lost in a story about a young princess named Elora Danaan. Suddenly, Shalimar came up to her.  
  
"What are you reading?" she asked curiously.  
  
" 'Shadow Moon', by George Lucas and Chris Clairemont," Adrianne replied, looking up at the blond feral. "It's really good. Have you ever seen the movie 'Willow'?" Shalimar nodded. "Well, it's basically a sequel to that. It's part one of a trilogy about Princess Elora Danaan that takes place twelve years after the movie, when she's thirteen."  
  
"How come they didn't just make a movie of the sequel?"  
  
"Because 'Shadow Moon' was published just a couple of years ago. Also, like I said, it's part one of a trilogy, and I don't think that any of the 'Willow' fans out there would want a repeat of the Disney animated movie 'The Black Cauldron'."  
  
"What was wrong with that?"  
  
"Have you ever read the Prydain Chronicles, by Lloyd Alexander?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well, the Prydain Chronicles were five books about the adventures of an Assistant Pig-Keeper named Taran, a princess named Eilonwy, and a fortune- telling pig named Hen Wen. The five books were 'The Book of Three', 'The Black Cauldron', 'The Castle of Llyr', 'Taran Wanderer', and 'The High King'. Anyway, the mistake that Disney made was they crammed all five books into an animated movie that was only about an hour and a half long, maybe two hours long at best."  
  
"Ugh."  
  
"Yeah. Well, Disney did one thing right with the movie, though."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"They didn't turn it into a musical. They had background music, but they didn't have the characters breaking into song and dance numbers."  
  
"Well, that's good."  
  
Aurora closed the book she held, and put it back.  
  
"You know what I love most about being in America?" she said.  
  
"What?"  
  
"No Professor Snape."  
  
"Who?" asked Shalimar curiously.  
  
"Severus Snape. He's one of the professors at Hogwarts, and he's definitely the most unpopular one. He teaches potions, he's Head of Slytherin House, and he continually pisses off the students in Gryffindor, which is the House that me, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are in by favoring the students in his House, mainly Draco Malfoy." Adrianne stuck out her tongue. "Skinny-assed prick pimp from hell." Shalimar fought back a laugh. "Anyway, back to the original subject: Professor Snape. Not only does he piss off the Gryffindors, he also pisses off members of the other Houses." Seeing the blank look on Shalimar's face, she explained, "There are four Houses at Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Gryffindor's the best; we're always kicking Slytherin's ass at Quidditch. As I was saying, he pisses off members of the other Houses."  
  
"What's he look like?" Shalimar asked.  
  
"Uh, shoulder-length greasy black hair, eyes that are so brown they're nearly black, sallow skin, a hooked nose, and he wears nothing but solid black robes. In other words, he looks like what he is...a complete slimeball."  
  
"A slimeball who can take points away from Gryffindor," an all-too-familiar voice said from behind Shalimar and Adrianne.  
  
Adrianne shrieked and spun around. Standing behind her was Professor Snape in all his greasy black hair, hooked nose, sallow skin, and black-robed glory. His dark brown eyes glittered.  
  
"Uh, hi, Professor Snape," Adrianne said, smiling nervously. "Um, how long have you been standing there?"  
  
"Long enough to hear your description of me," Snape replied, his upper lip curling slightly. If he had been looking that way at anyone else, they would have been running away in terror with their tails tucked between their legs. But Adrianne didn't scare easily, and so she stood her ground.  
  
"Well, I'm not at Hogwarts right now, so you can't take any points away from Gryffindor," she said bravely. "Also, we're in America, and I have freedom of speech." Then she shrugged. "Besides, you've got to admit that it was a fairly accurate description."  
  
Snape's lip curled even more, and Shalimar decided that it was time for her to step in. She stepped forward, and Snape glanced over at her, noticing her for the first time. As he took in the way she was dressed, his lip curled even more, only this time with contempt. And that made Shalimar even madder.  
  
"I think you should leave Adrianne alone," she said. "Otherwise you're gonna have to deal with me." Snape smirked at her.  
  
"Why should I be afraid of a mere muggle?" he sneered. That was a mistake. Shalimar's eyes flashed yellow for an instant, and then became their normal brown again. Snape stepped backwards, a faint look of alarm on his face. He muttered something about needing to find a particular book, and quickly walked away.  
  
Adrianne made a face at his back, and then turned, heading towards Harry and Ron, who were standing nearby, talking about fictional books that were about witches, or rather, the muggle interpretation of what witches were supposed to be like.  
  
"Muggles have the weirdest ideas about witches," Ron was saying to Harry as Adrianne approached. "Why would they think that witches wear pentagrams?"  
  
"Because the pentagram is the symbol for Wicca, which is a fairly common practice here in America," Adrianne said before Harry could reply. "It represents the five elements, only four of which I can remember; water, fire, earth, and air. And Wiccans are also known as witches. Oh, and you guys aren't gonna believe who I just ran into."  
  
"Who?" Harry asked curiously.  
  
"Professor Snape." Both Ron and Harry's jaws dropped open.  
  
"You're joking, right?" demanded Ron, turning white as a sheet. Adrianne shook her head. "Oh, bloody hell. Bloody, buggering hell! That's all we need, isn't it? Professor Snape!"  
  
"We've got to warn Hermione!" said Harry worriedly.  
  
"Warn me about what?" Harry, Ron and Adrianne nearly jumped out of their skins; Hermione had just come around the corner. She eyed the three of them suspiciously. "Warn me about *what*?" she repeated.  
  
"Snape's here," Adrianne replied. Hermione turned even paler than Ron had, and dropped the books she was holding.  
  
"Are you sure?" she asked worriedly.  
  
"I'm positive," Adrianne said grimly. "And I just made it out of a first- hand encounter with him. I, um, kinda pissed him off by saying that he looks like a complete slimeball. I didn't call him that to his face, but he was standing right behind me when I said it."  
  
Harry, Ron, and Hermione all flinched.  
  
"Did he yell at you?" Harry asked.  
  
"No. He merely announced his presence by saying that he was a slimeball who could take points from Gryffindor."  
  
"That's almost as bad," said Ron, and Harry and Hermione both nodded in agreement. "But at least he announced his presence, instead of just coming up behind you and tapping you on the shoulder."  
  
"If he'd done that, I think I would have had a heart attack," Adrianne said, grinning in spite of herself. "If it hadn't been for Shalimar coming to my rescue, I don't know what would have happened. But Shalimar came to my rescue, and scared Snape off." She grinned at the looks on her friends' faces.  
  
"Snape got scared off by a *muggle*?!" Ron said incredulously.  
  
"Well, Shalimar's not an ordinary muggle, remember?" Adrianne reminded him. "All she had to do was turn her eyes yellow for an instant, and Snape left quicker than a crowd at a really bad movie." Suddenly, she thought of something. "We'd better tell Fred and George about Snape."  
  
A moment later, they had located the twins, and explained the situation. Fred and George glanced at each other, and then they both grinned evilly.  
  
"Sounds to me like we need to play a prank on dear old Snapie," said Fred gleefully. He and George huddled up and began whispering with each other. A moment later, they turned back to the others, grinning.  
  
"We've got a plan," George informed Adrianne and the others. He and Fred began whispering their plan to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Adrianne, and a moment later, the four younger witches and wizards began to grin.  
  
Fred and George began walking through the bookstore, searching for Snape, and a moment later, they spotted him standing in front of a section on chemistry. He was looking through one of the books with a look of amazement on his face.  
  
"Incredible!" they heard him say. "The perfect muggle version of Potions!"  
  
Fred and George grinned at each other. Then they pulled out their wands.  
  
"Dyus scarleta," whispered Fred. A red shield appeared on the back of Snape's robes.  
  
"Symbolis Gryffindor," whispered George, and a golden lion appeared on the shield.  
  
Fred and George glanced over at each other, and nodded.  
  
"Quillus gigante," Fred whispered, and gave a practiced flick of his wrist. An instant later, a giant quill appeared behind Snape.  
  
George whispered, "Lions for the cup." Immediately, the quill began writing on the back of Snape's robe, below the shield, and a moment later, the twins saw golden letters flashing across the back of the Potion Master's robes.  
  
Suddenly, Snape lifted his head, and Fred and George's wands quickly disappeared into their sleeves. Snape turned around, and sneered when he saw them.  
  
"What are you two doing here?" he demanded.  
  
"We're staying with Adrianne here in America for the summer," Fred replied. "Us and Ron and Harry and Hermione."  
  
Snape's upper lip curled at the mention of Harry. It was a well-known fact that he and Harry despised each other.  
  
"By the way, Professor Snape, it's awfully considerate of you to support the Gryffindors this year," said George, poker face in place. The sneer on Snape's face transformed into a look of utter confusion.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well, sir, you've got the Gryffindor slogan on the back of your robes, and below that, it says, 'Lions for the cup'," replied Fred. Snape glanced over his shoulder, and his eyes widened when he saw the slogan and the words on his back. He spun back around to face the twins, a look of absolute fury on his face.  
  
"You two---" he spat, unable to say anything else. Fred and George gave him innocent looks.  
  
"Who? Us?" they said in unison.  
  
"Change my robe back!" Snape demanded. The twins looked over at each other, grinned, and then took off running.  
  
* * *  
  
Adam was just coming out of the hidden room when he saw two red-headed shapes headed in his direction. It was Fred and George Weasley. They were running as fast as they could to get away from something.  
  
"Hey, hey, hey!" Adam said, getting their attention. "I don't think Ruby would be too happy if the two of you destroyed his bookstore. Calm down."  
  
Suddenly, a man dressed in black robes marched towards them, a furious look on his face.  
  
"I want you two to undo whatever it is that you did to my robes!" he demanded, shoving his shoulder-length greasy black hair out of his face. His eyes were so dark they were nearly black, and he had sallow skin that his robes didn't exactly flatter.  
  
Adam eyed him warily.  
  
"Is there a problem?" he asked. The man looked over at him, and his lip curled in contempt.  
  
"There is a problem, but it's not one that concerns you, muggle," he snapped.  
  
"Well, if it has to do with these two, then it is my problem," Adam retorted icily. "Seeing as they're staying with me for the summer."  
  
The man paused for a moment, a confused look on his face.  
  
"They said that they were staying with their friends," he replied.  
  
"Yeah. My niece invited them to come stay with her when she came to visit me for the summer," Adam said. "Now, what's the problem?"  
  
"These two troublemakers played a prank on me that changed the back of my robes!" the man snarled, and turned around. Adam fought back a grin. There was a red shield on the back of his robes, and a golden lion on the shield. Below the shield were the words "Lions for the cup!" The man turned back around. "You see?" he said angrily. "I demand that they change my robes back!"  
  
--No wonder this guy's so pissed off-- Adam thought wryly. However, he didn't say that. He turned towards Fred and George.  
  
"Guys, I think that he's gone through enough," Adam said seriously. The twins started to protest, but Adam raised his hand to silence them. "No discussion. Now, I want you two to *fix his robes*." He gave them the slightest of winks to make sure that they'd get it.  
  
They got it.  
  
"Oh, all right," replied the twins at the same time.  
  
"We'll fix his robes," said Fred, pretending to sound reluctant.  
  
"Please turn around, Professor Snape," said George.  
  
Snape turned around, and the twins pointed their wands at his back.  
  
"Priori incantatem," said Fred clearly, while at the same time, George muttered, "Quillus gigante."  
  
To Adam's amazement, a giant quill appeared behind Snape.  
  
George muttered, "Gryffindors rule, and Slytherins drool."  
  
Adam watched as the quill began writing on Snape's back, and a moment later, the words "Gryffindors rule, and Slytherins drool" appeared there.  
  
He fought back a grin, and said, "There. Your robe is back to normal."  
  
Snape immediately spun around, and stormed out of the bookstore. As soon as he did so, Adam and the twins began laughing.  
  
Suddenly, Adam saw Adrianne, Harry, Ron, and Hermione approaching. They had huge grins on their faces.  
  
"Fred, George, we saw what you replaced the earlier prank with," Adrianne said gleefully. "That was great! And thank you, Uncle Adam, for not giving away the second prank. That makes it even sweeter."  
  
"Glad to be of service," Adam replied, grinning.  
  
"I wonder if Snape'll ever realize what you two did," said Ron thoughtfully to the twins.  
  
They started laughing again.  
  
to be continued...  
  
* * *  
  
A/N: Woo-hoo! I've gotten chapter 2 finished! Now to start chapter 3! As always, please R&R. Flamers will be pelted with dungbombs, and then they'll get their sorry arses kicked to the Bog of Eternal Stench.  
  
And would somebody *please* R&R my story "Eternal Love---Unedited". And please don't do what emmafan did, which was to write "yuck" as the entire review.  
  
See ya! 


	4. Chapter 3: Attack At The Bookstore

Note: The reason for Snape's appearance is revealed in this chapter! Betcha never guessed that he would have a sister who would be a *way* better Divination teacher than that old bat Trelawney, didja? Also, the reason that Snape wasn't disguised as a muggle is because of some of the people who are regular customers in Ruby's bookstore; three guesses what those people are. *winks* Also, five hundred points to the Hogwarts House of your choice if you can guess what the in-joke is.  
  
Chapter 3: Attack At The Bookstore  
  
A short while later, Adrianne had chosen the books she wanted to get, and went over to the cash register to purchase them.  
  
A young man who was in his mid-twenties sat behind the counter. He had short brown hair and wore glasses with black plastic frames, and was a bit overweight. He looked up when Adrianne walked up to the counter, and smiled at her.  
  
"Hello, Adrianne," he said, his voice sounding pleasant. "Did you find the books that you wanted?'  
  
Adrianne stared at him, completely dumbfounded. Her mouth hung open slightly. --How did he know my name?--  
  
Before she could ask him that, however, he spoke again.  
  
"I'm a telepath," he said. "But I actually prefer the term ESPer. I can read minds, and yours is a open book. Besides, Adam had told me that his niece and her friends had come to stay at Sanctuary, and since there's a strong resemblance between the two of you, I deduced that you were Adrianne, his niece. My name's Ruby." He held out his hand, and Adrianne shook it. "If you're interested, I have a couple of books on scrying. After all, aren't you going to be doing that in Divination this year?"  
  
Adrianne's mouth fell open, and she stared at him, bug-eyed.  
  
"Did you read my mind about Hogwarts?" she asked in a low voice, preparing to reach for her wand. It was one thing to let her uncle and his friends know; he was family and they were people he trusted with his life. But Ruby wasn't family, and he wasn't a member of Mutant X.  
  
"Yes. But don't worry. Some of my regular customers are members of the wizarding community, so I keep stock of some of the books that they use." Adrianne let out a sigh of relief, and moved her hand away from her wand. Ruby continued. "And since I'm part of the Underground, I have to keep my mouth shut about things like that anyway." Ruby reached under the counter, and pulled a couple of books out. They had symbols on the covers that Adrianne had seen in "Unfogging The Future" by Cassandra Vablatsky. "Here you go."  
  
Adrianne paid for her books, and turned to go find the others. As she walked past the doorway, she saw some people dressed like corporate clones walking towards the bookstore. She stared at them, and realized who they were. Without hesitation, Adrianne opened her mouth and began screaming.  
  
"UNCLE ADAM!!!"  
  
An instant later, the members of Mutant X and Adrianne's friends came running towards her.  
  
"Addy, what's wrong?" asked Adam worriedly.  
  
"The GSA's here!"  
  
Adam looked out the door, and saw that there were several GS agents heading towards the bookstore. He turned around, and yanked a book off a bookshelf, revealing a red button. He hit it, but Adrianne couldn't see anything happening. But before she could say anything, Ruby came running towards them, followed by two people that she didn't know.  
  
"Adam, what's going on?" Ruby asked, looking worried. "Are we in danger?"  
  
"We've been found by the GSA," Adam replied grimly. "Ruby, I want you, Alison, and Vince to go out the back door; we'll hold off the GS agents. Take Adrianne---"  
  
"I'm not going anywhere," Adrianne interrupted. "Neither are my friends." Harry Ron, Hermione, and the twins all nodded in agreement.  
  
Suddenly, the door opened, and GS agents began swarming inside. One of the agents pulled out a gun and aimed it at them.  
  
"Two words, Adam," she said smugly. "You're outnumbered."  
  
"Adrianne, get behind me," Adam said grimly, preparing to fight to defend his niece, her friends, and the safehouse.  
  
"No way, Uncle Adam," Adrianne replied, just as grimly. Without hesitation, she pulled out her wand and aimed it at the nearest agent. "Don't come any closer," she warned. The agent merely smirked at her, and pulled out a club. "Don't say I didn't warn you. Expelliarmus!"  
  
The force of the Disarming Curse hit the agent and sent him flying backwards. He quickly got to his feet.  
  
"Ready to give up?" asked Adrianne. The agent charged. "Guess not. Petrificus totalus!" The Full Body-Bind hit the agent head-on, and he immediately stiffened, falling forward. "Anyone else wanna take me on?" None of the agents made any effort to come near her. "That's what I thought." She turned around, and grinned at the others. "Piece of cake," she said, smirking. Suddenly, Adrianne yelped. She'd been grabbed from behind by another agent. "Leggo!"  
  
"Inflamare!"yelled Hermione, and the agent holding Adrianne screamed as her arm burst into flames, letting go of her.  
  
"Expecto patronus!" Harry yelled, pointing his wand at the GS agents. A silver stag erupted from the tip of his wand, and galloped towards the agents. They took one look at it, picked up the agent that Adrianne had placed the Full Body-Bind on, and then ran out the door.  
  
Adrianne and the others started cheering, not noticing that Snape was standing nearby, watching them. He had an annoyed look on his face.  
  
"Of all the things my sister had to predict, she *would* predict something like this," he muttered.  
  
Snape turned around, and Disapperated out of the bookstore.  
  
* * *  
  
Mason Eckhart looked up as the door to his office opened. Leona Rowling walked inside, the door shutting behind her.  
  
"Well?" Eckhart asked.  
  
"We were unable to apprehend anyone at the safehouse," Agent Rowling replied. Eckhart looked disgusted.  
  
"And why not?" he demanded. "Were Adam's people there?"  
  
"Yes, sir. But they weren't the ones that we fought."  
  
Eckhart lifted his head and stared at her. "They weren't?"  
  
"No, sir."  
  
"Then who was?"  
  
"A group of teenagers with sticks."  
  
Eckhart gave a derisive snort. "Don't be ridiculous. It isn't possible for mere children to fight off trained GS agents with nothing more than sticks."  
  
"But they weren't ordinary children, sir. Look what they did to one of my men." She snapped her fingers, and two agents carried a third one into the room. He was completely immobile, except for his eyes, which were moving back and forth, filled with terror.  
  
Eckhart stared down at him, and then looked back up at Agent Rowling. "The children did that?" he asked calmly. His second-in-command shook her head.  
  
"Just one of the children. I believe that we should try to capture her, sir."  
  
"Why is that?"  
  
"She called Adam 'Uncle'."  
  
Eckhart looked surprised. "So Adam has a niece," he mused. He looked up at Agent Rowling again. "Take your best men and bring her to me."  
  
* * *  
  
Later that day, Adrianne was giving her friends a tour of the city. Ron and the twins were amazed by all the muggle things that people were using, and Harry and Hermione looked impressed by all the American sights.  
  
"I can't believe how many fast food restaurants there are in America!" said Hermione in amazement.  
  
"It's a good thing Dudley isn't here," Harry said, grinning. "The people in all the restaurants would have to run for cover."  
  
"No kidding," Fred muttered.  
  
"Beware!" screeched Adrianne. "It's 'Attack of the Humongous Prat'!" She, Harry, Ron, and the twins all howled with laughter, while Hermione tsked, fighting back a smile.  
  
Suddenly, Adrianne saw someone step in front of them, and she stopped laughing. It was the GS agent from earlier.  
  
"Going somewhere?" she asked mildly. Then, before they could react, she reached out and grabbed Adrianne, yanking the young witch towards her.  
  
"Hey!" Adrianne yelled, struggling to get loose. "Lemme go, you sorry-ass loser excuse for a GS agent!"  
  
"I don't think so," the agent replied, and pulled out what looked like a black leather glove. She touched it to Adrianne's back, and electricity came out, zapping her into unconsciousness. She collapsed, but the agent held on to her.  
  
"Adrianne!" Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the twins all yelled at once. They pulled their wands out, but the agent pulled out a gun and aimed it at Adrianne's head.  
  
"If you try to use those sticks of yours, I'll shoot her," she warned. They lowered their wands, and the agent dragged Adrianne over to a black van that was nearby, dumping her into the back seat. Then she got in and drove away.  
  
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the twins all looked at each other, and then took off running down the street towards the bookstore.  
  
"Adam!" they yelled, running up the stairs. Adam came running out of the back room, followed by the other members of Mutant X, as well as Ruby, Vince, and Alison.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. "Where's Adrianne?"  
  
"She's been kidnapped!" Ron blurted. "That---" He called the GS agent a name that made Hermione immediately say, looking shocked, "Ron!" "--- zapped Adrianne and dragged off, and said that if we used our wands to try and save her, she'd shoot her!"  
  
As soon as he heard that, Adam's mouth tightened, and he immediately began thinking of several choice phrases, not daring to say them aloud for fear that he'd scar the teenagers in front of him for life. Emma winced, and looked over at him.  
  
"Adam, if you're going to use language like that, just say it aloud; don't think it," she said, looking pained.  
  
Adam winced slightly. "Sorry about that." He grabbed his jacket, and pulled it on. "I'll be back soon," he said through gritted teeth. He muttered something under his breath, and Hermione glanced over at him.  
  
"What?" she asked, puzzled.  
  
"I said that Eckhart's gonna get the ass-kicking of his life."  
  
* * *  
  
In the darkness, Adrianne could hear people moving around. --Where the hell am I?-- She inhaled through her nose, and caught a whiff of antiseptic. --Am I in a hospital?-- A moment later, Adrianne's unspoken question was answered, very painfully.  
  
A slender hand connected with her cheek with a resounding CRACK. Adrianne yelped in pain, and her eyes flew open.  
  
The agent from earlier stood over her, a smug look on her face. "Mr. Eckhart, she's awake," she said over her shoulder. A few seconds later, a white-haired man came into Adrianne's line of sight.  
  
"Well done, Agent Rowling. It's nice to know that some of my people can get the job done." He looked down at Adrianne. "Welcome to Genomex, Ms.--- " He stopped, looking rather puzzled. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I don't know your name."  
  
"It's Adrianne," she spat. "Adrianne Mandori. And no, Mandori isn't my uncle's last name. It's my mom's married name."  
  
"It's a very unusual last name," said Mr. Eckhart. "And yet, it suits you. My name is Mason Eckhart." He smiled faintly as Adrianne's eyes widened in recognition. "I see you've heard of me."  
  
"Yeah. You're the guy who keeps getting his ass kicked by my uncle."  
  
Eckhart frowned, and Agent Rowling smacked her across the face again. "Show some respect!" she snapped, but Adrianne stuck her tongue out at her.  
  
"Don't wanna, don't gotta!" Agent Rowling swung her hand at Adrianne again, but she saw it coming, and quickly acted.  
  
Agent Rowling's howls of pain echoed through the halls.  
  
"SHE BIT ME! THE LITTLE BITCH BIT ME!"  
  
* * *  
  
"What do you mean, we can't come with you?" demanded Harry. Behind him, Hermione and Ron were scowling, and the twins looked mutinous.  
  
They were back at Sanctuary, and the members of Mutant X were getting ready to go rescue Adrianne from Genomex.  
  
"I don't want you kids to get kidnapped as well," replied Adam. "Adrianne wouldn't want you to get kidnapped while trying to rescue her."  
  
"But we can help!" protested Ron.  
  
"None of you kids are going, and that's final." With that, Adam went upstairs.  
  
Ron, looking furious, started to say something else, but Harry stopped him. "We'll sneak onto the Double Helix with my dad's old cloak," he muttered. Ron relaxed visibly, needing no explanation or translation. "Pass the word on to Hermione and the twins." Without another word, Harry took off running upstairs.  
  
Ron nodded, and turned to the others.  
  
A few moments later, Harry came back downstairs, a silvery cloak slung over his arm. He also held both his and Adrianne's Firebolts, and Fred and George's Cleansweep Sevens. He handed the Cleansweeps to their owners, and then everyone got underneath the Invisibility Cloak.  
  
"Quick, follow me," Harry whispered, and they began moving towards the docking bay.  
  
A few minutes later, they reached the Double Helix, and quickly went inside, all of them standing in a corner underneath the cloak.  
  
"Ron, watch where you step," George whispered, wincing as his younger brother stepped on his foot.  
  
"Sorry, George...blimey, it's dark in here..."  
  
"Both of you be quiet!" whispered Harry. "We can't reveal that we're here while the Double Helix is still in the docking bay."  
  
A moment later, they heard footsteps coming into the Double Helix, and everyone shut up.  
  
* * *  
  
Emma stared out the window of the Double Helix, and fought back the urge to sigh. They were halfway to Genomex already, and she was beginning to worry about what Eckhart was doing to Adrianne. --He's probably torturing her right now, trying to get some information about Adam and Sanctuary.--  
  
Suddenly, she heard people talking in the back of the Double Helix.  
  
"Ouch!" came Ron Weasley's pained yelp. "George, you great prat, that was my foot!"  
  
"Sorry, Ron," came George Weasley's voice. "Ow! Watch where you aim those elbows of yours, Fred!"  
  
"Sorry, George."  
  
By that time, Emma, Shalimar, Brennan, Jesse, and Adam were all staring at the back of the Double Helix...  
  
...Where there was nothing but empty space.  
  
Adam stood up, and walked to the back of the Double Helix, staring at the empty space intently.  
  
"Shh!" came Harry Potter's voice. "The three of you be quiet!"  
  
"D'you think that Adam sees us?" came Ron's voice again, this time sounding nervous.  
  
"Of course not, you prat," replied Fred scornfully. "We're invisible."  
  
Adam reached out carefully with one hand, and grabbed at the empty space. His hand came away with a strange-looking silvery material, revealing the startled faces of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and the twins.  
  
"Uh, hi, Adam," said Harry, looking slightly nervous. "We were just---"  
  
"I thought I told you that you couldn't come with us," interrupted Adam, looking furious.  
  
"We're stubborn," replied Fred in a matter-of-fact voice. "And we felt responsible for Adrianne's kidnapping."  
  
"So the twins and I are going to go on ahead to get Adrianne out of Genomex," finished Harry, lifting his and Adrianne's broomsticks, along with the strange cloak.  
  
Without another word, he and the twins went over to the entrance of the Double Helix, and carefully opened it. Harry looked over at the members of Mutant X, and grinned.  
  
"See you at Genomex," he said, and jumped out into the open air, holding onto his broomstick. Fred and George immediately followed, and the three of them flew ahead of the Double Helix, swooping around each other.  
  
Ron and Hermione immediately pulled the door shut and then went to sit down.  
  
* * *  
  
Adrianne screamed as Agent Rowling injected something into the back of her neck.  
  
"What the hell was that?" she demanded, reaching up to see what was there. Beneath her fingers, she could feel a circular plastic whatever-the-hell.  
  
"That was a subdermal governor," replied Agent Rowling nastily. "It'll prevent you from using your powers. That way, you won't be able to freeze anyone, or set anyone's arm on fire."  
  
Adrianne scowled. She had her wand hidden up her sleeve in a special pocket, but if Agent Rowling was correct, she wouldn't be able to use it.  
  
Not while she had the subdermal governor in her neck, anyway.  
  
* * *  
  
Harry and the twins flew a hundred feet above the ground, and they began to slow down. There was a stone building a bit of a distance in front of them.  
  
"I wonder where Addy is?" Harry wondered aloud. He pulled out his wand, and whispered, "Point me in Adrianne's direction."  
  
His wand spun around on the palm of his hand several times before finally coming to a stop. Harry looked to see where it was pointing.  
  
It was pointing at the building.  
  
"Fred, George!" Harry yelled. "Follow me!" He flew towards the building at breakneck speed, with the twins hot on his heels.  
  
* * *  
  
Adrianne lay on the floor, whimpering. Agent Rowling had just tried, for the past five minutes, to get the location of Sanctuary out of her. At first she'd tried to force herself into Adrianne's mind, but every time she'd tried that, the younger woman had automatically kicked her in the shins.  
  
Then she'd tried to beat the information out of Adrianne, but that hadn't worked.  
  
"Are you ready to give us the information?" Agent Rowling demanded, towering over her. Adrianne glanced up at her, and gave the GS agent an evil look.  
  
"It's up your butt and around the corner," she snarled, and yelped as Agent Rowling's foot connected with her side.  
  
"That's enough, Agent Rowling." Adrianne lifted her head and saw that Eckhart was standing a few feet away. "She obviously inherited Adam's stubbornness, and it won't do us any good if she's in a coma as a result of the way you're beating her." That last comment was obviously meant as a reprimand. Agent Rowling looked upset.  
  
"But she's not giving us the information that we need, sir!"  
  
"I can't tell you what I don't know," Adrianne replied, gasping for air after being kicked.  
  
"Agent Rowling, I suggest you take Ms. Mandori back to her cell," Eckhart said. "And if she tries to escape..."  
  
He looked straight at Adrianne so that she would get his point.  
  
"...kill her."  
  
Instead of looking terrified, Adrianne merely smirked at Eckhart. "Empty threat, jerk. Kill me, and you've got nothing to use against my uncle."  
  
Eckhart scowled at her. Apparently she had inherited more than her uncle's stubbornness.  
  
He looked over at Agent Rowling. "Take her away."  
  
Agent Rowling yanked Adrianne to her feet, and dragged her out the door.  
  
"Ow! You could be a little more gentle!" Adrianne yelled as she was dragged down the hallway.  
  
* * *  
  
Gary Jacobs sat behind his desk, playing Solitaire on his computer. He knew that if Mr. Eckhart found out, he'd be in a whole lot of trouble. -- But it's not like I have any other choice-- he thought to himself. --After all, this has to be one of the most boring jobs on the planet, bar none; absolutely the most boring.--  
  
Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching, and he quickly clicked the Solitaire down on the computer. He stood up, expecting to see either Mr. Eckhart or Agent Rowling walking towards him for the hourly report. Instead, he didn't see anyone.  
  
Confused, Gary looked up and down the hallway. But he still didn't see anyone.  
  
"Is anyone there?" he called, slightly nervous. A moment later, a stick appeared in mid-air, aiming itself at Gary. He stared at it. "What the hell?"  
  
"Stupefy!" came the voice of a teenage boy from...somewhere...behind the stick.  
  
There was a burst of dazzling red light, and it hit Gary, sending him flying backwards. He hit the wall, and slid to the floor, unconscious.  
  
A moment later, three teenage boys appeared out of nowhere, and a silvery cloak fell to the floor. Two of the boys looked exactly alike, with red hair and brown eyes, and the third boy was a few inches shorter, with messy black hair, green eyes, and glasses. They carefully hid four broomsticks behind the desk, where no one would be able to find them.  
  
As soon as they were done, the boy with black hair grabbed the silvery cloak, and the three of them disappeared into thin air.  
  
* * *  
  
Adrianne heard footsteps coming down the hallway, and she quickly got up. Maybe she would be able to trick one of the agents into letting her go! But when she looked out the window of her cell, no one was there.  
  
"Ouch!" she heard Fred Weasley grumble in the empty space. "That was my foot, George!"  
  
"Sorry, Fred," George Weasley whispered back.  
  
"Both of you be quiet!" Adrianne heard Harry Potter whisper sternly. "If someone hears us, we're completely buggered!"  
  
Adrianne grinned. Harry and the twins had come to rescue her! They were probably wearing Harry's Invisibility Cloak, which explained why she could hear them but couldn't see them.  
  
"Guys!" she hissed loudly. "Over here!"  
  
An instant later, Harry and the twins appeared, seemingly out of thin air, and ran over to the cell door.  
  
"All right there, Addy?" asked Harry worriedly.  
  
"I've been better. Now get me out of here!"  
  
Harry pulled out his wand, and pointed it at the electronic lock on the cell door. "Alohomora!" The lock beeped, and the door slid open. Adrianne ran out of the cell, and flung her arms around the three of them.  
  
"Thank you so much for getting me out of there!" she said excitedly. "Let's get out of here!"  
  
"I don't think so," came Eckhart's voice from behind them. Harry, Adrianne, and the twins spun around.  
  
"So you must be Eckhart," said Harry coldly. "Why'd you kidnap Adrianne?"  
  
"To get revenge against Adam," Eckhart replied simply. "Now, step aside."  
  
Instead of complying, Harry and the twins pulled out their wands and aimed them at Eckhart. He stepped backwards, looking alarmed. Harry stepped forward.  
  
"We're getting Adrianne out of here," he said grimly. "Don't try to stop us."  
  
"Hey, Harry, would you mind sending a few sparks from your wand into the subdermal governor in the back of my neck?" Adrianne asked. She scratched the back of her neck. "It itches."  
  
Harry walked over to Adrianne, and pointed his wand at the back of her neck. "Elektrica!" A small bolt of electricity shot out of the tip of his wand into the subdermal governor, and Adrianne let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"Thanks, Harry," she said gratefully. "We can go now."  
  
Harry and the twins, still aiming their wands at Eckhart, followed Adrianne down the hallway.  
  
"This way, Addy," said Harry. "We've got our broomsticks, and we brought yours as well."  
  
Adrianne grinned. "Wicked."  
  
* * *  
  
As the Double Helix streaked towards Genomex, Ron felt that he was going to die of anxiety. Glancing over at Hermione, he saw that she had a worried look on her face. Ron finally stood up, and began pacing back and forth.  
  
Hermione watched him pace for a few minutes, and then sighed. "Ron, please sit down. You're making me dizzy." Ron didn't stop, and Hermione sighed again. "Ron, stop pacing before I Stun you."  
  
There was just the faintest hint of a warning in her voice. Ron stopped pacing and sat down next to Hermione, letting out a huge sigh.  
  
"Sorry, Hermione," he apologized. "I'm just worried about Addy. I hope that she's okay."  
  
"And you think I don't?" Hermione exploded, glaring at Ron. "I'm just as worried about Addy as you are, Ron!"  
  
"I didn't say you weren't!" snapped Ron, glaring back at Hermione. "I was just making a comment!"  
  
By that time, they were both standing, glaring at each other.  
  
Nearby, Shalimar, Emma, Brennan, and Jesse were watching the two of them.  
  
"If looks could kill, they'd have incinerated each other by now," muttered Brennan.  
  
"They're both worried about Adrianne," Emma whispered. "Maybe they'll stop fighting if the Double Helix goes faster."  
  
"Unfortunately, the Double Helix can't go much faster," replied Jesse in a low voice.  
  
Emma sighed, and looked back over at Ron and Hermione. To her relief, they'd stopped fighting, and were building a house out of cards.  
  
"I didn't think witches and wizards played ordinary games," Emma told the others. (Famous last words, Em.)  
  
KA-BOOM!  
  
Emma spun around, and saw that the house of cards had exploded. But Ron and Hermione didn't look upset or frightened by the explosion. Instead, they were both laughing.  
  
Adam ran out of the cockpit, a worried look on his face. "Who used the Explosive Spell?"  
  
Hermione stopped laughing, and looked slightly embarrassed. Shalimar, Emma, Jesse, and Brennan all stared at her.  
  
"Nobody used the Explosive Spell," Hermione said finally. "Ron and I were playing Exploding Snap, that's all."  
  
"Exploding Snap?" Adam and the other member of Mutant X asked at the same time.  
  
"It's a card game in the wizarding world." Hermione picked up one of the cards on the pile that had exploded, and brushed it off. The card was unharmed.  
  
"The cards don't get damaged by the explosion," added Ron.  
  
Adam sighed, and went back into the cockpit.  
  
Emma shook her head slightly. Suddenly, she gasped as she received an empathic vision from Adrianne, and everything went black.  
  
* * *  
  
Adrianne, Harry, and the twins ran down the hallway, panting.  
  
"Which way do we go now?" asked Harry.  
  
"I've never been here before!" replied Adrianne crossly. "How the hell should I know?"  
  
"I was just asking!" Harry said defensively. "Anyway, we need to get our broomsticks before someone finds them. We hid them nearby."  
  
"Well, then, we'd better Summon them, hadn't we?" Adrianne pulled her wand out of her sleeve. "Accio Firebolt!" A moment later, her broomstick came zooming towards her, and she grabbed it, putting her wand back in her sleeve. Harry and the twins quickly followed suit.  
  
As soon as they had their broomsticks, Adrianne and the others took off running down the hallway again. But before they could get very far, Agent Rowling appeared in front of them.  
  
"Going somewhere?" she asked in a voice as sweet as poison.  
  
"Uh, yeah," replied Adrianne. "We were just leaving."  
  
With that, she started to reach for her wand, ready to Stun the agent. But before she could, Adrianne felt a mental "fist" slam into her mind, and she collapsed, clutching her head.  
  
"Addy!" she dimly heard Harry and the twins shout, but before she could respond, she blacked out.  
  
to be continued...  
  
* * *  
  
A/N: Good grief, this is my longest chapter yet for this story! Please R&R, but no flames. Anyone who flames me will get pelted with dungbombs, and then they'll get their sorry arses kicked from here to the Bog of Eternal Stench. 


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